¶ … interviews and surveys with women offenders who are inmates in the Baylor Correctional Institution form the foundation of this discussion of data analysis and report writing. The revised research questions accentuate the need for a greater balance of qualitative and quantitative research to ensure as complete and accurate a research methodology is executed. The first phase of the study concentrates on a more thorough analysis of the qualitative factors that influence the outcomes of every research question. The second phased concentrates on the use of attitudinal scaling at the interval or ratio level of measurement so that multidimensional scaling (MDS) can be used to define perception- and attitudinal-based maps of how and why trigger events lead to lapses on drug tolerance. The use of MDS techniques to determine the relative level of self-awareness and attitudes towards specific treatment strategies is commonplace in social science, and often provides insights into interrelationships not typically seen in two-dimensional analysis (Schwartz, Cieciuch, Vecchione, et.al. 2012).
Data Analysis and Writing
The first phase of the modified research methodology concentrates on collecting qualitative data and will help to provide greater context to the revised three research questions. This contextual data will be very valuable for determining how the respondents (who...
Intermingling roles that are specific to the respondent in conjunction with attitudinal data provides insights into specific situational and lifestyle-based events that would otherwise often be missed (Robbins, Martin, Surratt, 2009). The qualitative data will be summarized in a variety of different formats, including the creation and continual fine-tuning of personas or aggregations of respondents. These personas will serve to succinctly communicate the overall findings of the study in a more personalized and focused way. The personas will also be invaluable in mapping the gradual improvement of offenders over time, as the research methodology is replicated to capture longitudinal effects of treatment programs. There is a dearth of studies to this point on the longitudinal aspects of treatment programs from an attitudinal or perceptual-based approach to defining success criterion for treatment (Robbins, Martin, Surratt, 2009). The proposed study begins with qualitative data that is also used for defining the specific series of decisions that lead to relapses of drug use being rationalized by women who have previously served sentences at the Baylor Correctional Institution. The objective of this phase of the research and the…
